Let’s face it: Utah is not a player in the 2024 presidential election. The number of electoral votes that it brings to the table — just 6 — is minimal.
I suggest, however, that Utah has the opportunity to loom large this November by casting its votes in favor of the nation’s first woman president. Why? Consider Utah’s history.
My Utah license plate reads “First to Vote, Utah Women 1870.” Sure, Wyoming recognized women’s right to vote earlier, but it was Utah women who cast the first ballots. Seraph Young, a young school teacher, holds the honor of casting the first vote by a woman in the nation on Feb. 14, 1870.
I must admit that when I moved to Utah in 1982, I was unaware of the significant feminist movement of 19th century Utah. It was through conducting research at the historical department at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and reading scholars such as Leonard Arrington for a book on early Utah schoolteachers that my eyes were opened to the tremendous impact and power of these early women.
One schoolteacher from Smithfield, Louisa Lula Greene Richards, was the first editor of The Woman’s Exponent, a newspaper dedicated to “The Rights of the Women of Zion, The Rights of the Women of All Nations” — initiated with the approval of Brigham Young. He preached in 1869, “We believe that women are useful, not only to sweep houses, wash dishes, make beds and raise babies, but they should stand behind the counter, study law or physics … and all this to enlarge their sphere of usefulness for the benefit of society at large.” He also advocated for women to become physicians.
Dr. Martha Hughes Cannon (1837-1932) took that advice, receiving her medical degree in 1880. Having worked at The Woman’s Exponent, she was also an ardent supporter of suffrage. Utah women lost their right to vote in 1887 but regained it in 1895 when vocal women such as Dr. Cannon advocated for politicians to make women’s suffrage part of the new state Constitution. When Utah achieved statehood, Dr. Cannon was the first to register to vote. She then ran as a Democrat for one of five state senate positions and won, even though one of the other candidates was her husband. Thus, she was the first woman elected to a state senate — another notable first for Utah.
During the run-up to the 2020 celebration of voting rights that included Utah’s 1870 landmark suffrage decision, the 19th Amendment of 1920 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, I was privileged to lead with my colleague Sydney Peterson, Utah State University’s Year of the Woman celebration. Our goal was to tell the stories of Aggie Women, often unknown, who served as pioneers from the institution’s earliest days to pave the way for future leaders. Sarah Walker Eddy delivered a rousing speech on “Higher Education and Women” at the dedication of the Utah Agricultural College in 1890. When classes began, Miss Vendla Berntson registered as the first student.
The first African-American woman to graduate from a Utah college, Mignon Barker Richmond was a member of the Empyrean Club, a group of college women devoted to discussing current issues and problems. She went on to a distinguished career as an educator, civic leader and humanitarian.
Unfortunately, the perception of Utah outside the state is not about its early history of enfranchising women rightfully, nor about its status as electing the first woman senator. Too many people get their vision of Utah from media, various “wives” shows that hardly reflect reality. But data do not lie: Utah is routinely labeled as the worst state for women because of the few numbers of women leaders in politics and business and the widest wage gap.
On the upside, Dr. Susan Madsen, founder of the Utah Women & Leadership Project, leads a statewide social change movement titled “A Bolder Way Forward.”
How difficult will it be to change outsiders’ perspective of the Beehive State? This presidential election offers a unique opportunity. If Utahns, after researching the issues, choose to vote for the first female president — believe me — it will be major news.
I call on my fellow citizens and leaders at the highest ranks to weigh carefully the candidates for their character, compassion and integrity. Gov. Spencer Cox should reflect on an endorsement offered before the race was transformed with a different candidate, particularly after being made unwittingly complicit in the politicizing of the sacred space that is Arlington National Cemetery.
I was a beneficiary of the 26th Amendment to the Constitution, passed in 1971, that lowered the voting age to 18. I’ve not missed an election since. Engaging in the political process in an informed and civil manner is our right and responsibility.
(Joyce Kinkead) Joyce Kinkead is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Utah State University.
Joyce Kinkead is distinguished professor emeritus at Utah State University, the 2013 Carnegie Professor for Utah and author or editor of over a dozen books, including “A Schoolmarm All My Life: Personal Narratives from Frontier Utah.”
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